As a dentist, you’ve likely had patients who have noticed changes in their bite or maybe suddenly experienced jaw pain due to TMJ. Though patients may think it seems like a little thing, having the correct bite can make a world of difference for their dental health and overall well-being.
Your dental office may be still utilizing articulating paper, shimstock or mounted molds to assess and treat a patient’s bite issue. These traditional occlusion measurement treatments can be messy, inefficient, unpleasant and sometimes not very accurate. The possible additional patient office visits for retakes of a scan can also be costly to the dental office.
The inaccuracies and the time consumption and costs of these traditional bite examination methods have given rise to a new form of dental technology called the Tekscan (or T-Scan).
What is Tekscan?
The T-Scan System is a digital analysis of a patient’s bite over time. It has mouth-shaped sensors that fit into the patient’s mouth, an electronic, hand-held scanner and computer software. The sensor in the patient’s mouth sends a signal to the scanner held in the dentist’s hand. The 2-D and 3-D image results are then displayed on a computer screen. The intraoral sensor can be reused on the same patient up to 20 times and has been found to be recommended by 91% of dental professionals.
T-Scan allow your dentist to create reports on your occlusion scan, view multiple scans and compare bites, analyze bite contact points at precise moments and allows the dentist to store your occlusion data in a bite database that he or she can access and reference to later.
Why T-Scans are Good for Your Dental Office
Believe it or not, T-Scans are the only clinically recognized digital bite analysis. Its state-of-the-art software helps you see additional bite forces you may not have been able to see before, including high forces, the interrelationship of occlusal surfaces and premature contacts.
The latest version has an improved and more powerful user interface that allows for:
- Increased efficiency and revenue
- Fast performance
- Generates more dynamic, comprehensive patient reports
- The ability to export scans into MP4 movie files
- Produce 2-D and 3-D upper and lower arch models
- Identify damaging bite forces on a patient’s implants
- Can overlay T-Scan data onto digital impression models imported from an intraoral scanner
- Has a redesigned sensitivity slider for patients with a gag reflex
- New wizard to help adjust the sensor output so the software identifies a proper range of force
- Can identify and segment forces on individual teeth
- Generate comprehensive reports for patients to take home while they consider treatment
How You and Your Patients Can Benefit From T-Scan:
- Your patients will be better educated about their own occlusion
- Enhance the commitment to treatment by your patients
- Set your practice apart from others
- Provide precise, accurate data to your patients
- Decrease unnecessary discomfort or irritation in the mouths of patients
- Decrease the need for repeat visits and retakes of scans
- Monitor your patients’ occlusion changes over time
T-Scan Applications
T-Scans are incredibly handy in a dental office because of their diverse applications. Some of the common dental procedures and treatments T-Scans can enhance include:
- Initial Comprehensive Exam
- Occlusal Analysis & Adjustment
- TMD/TMJ & Headaches
- Splint/Orthotic Therapy
- Implants
- Crowns & Bridges
- Dentures
- Veneers
- Full Mouth Restorations
- Orthodontics
At Arrowhead Dental Laboratory, we’re committed to helping our dental clients offer the best, most advanced dental treatment and technology to their patients, including education on T-Scans.
Or more information on T-Scans and how your dental office can benefit from it, contact us at Arrowhead dental labs today.